Sweet goodbye

Being a sweet tooth is not a personal choice. I rather belong to those who think that the taste and love for sweet little things and sugar piles in general is inherited. I have kind of an idea of who passed this on to me in the family (don't worry dad, nobody will know)... Well, it is a pretty savory inheritance if you ask me, and one that I welcome with an open mouth.

Practically speaking, this translates into me being taken over by sudden cravings of home made little pastries, breads, pies, biscuits and so on. Most of the time, I have to rein myself in though because baking of all sorts requires patience, focus and...time. So during the week, I can just forget about the lovely cinnamon and sugar smells that pervade the apartment most of the times during the week-end; preferably when the weather is sadly unfriendly outside and calls for warming pottering by the stove.

Intellectually speaking, I am forever grateful to all those bloggers out there who prepare delicious pastries, take pictures of them and then share the results on fantastic blogs that make gluttons like me smile with tasty expectations. One of them is BcommeBon - a mine of short greedy posts, always tasteful and underlined by beautiful pictures that make your mouth watery in the click of a mouse. Take a look and tell me you can resist, go on!

But today, one of the founders of pâtisserie left the stage. Even if you never lived in France, or are not familiar with all things French, you HAVE heard his name, seen one of his shops and hopefully tasted one of his luscious creations. Gaston Lenôtre was always considered a legend in the galaxy of French pâtissiers, the one who reinvented baking, taking it into a new, lighter dimension flattered by daring associations of tastes.

Before him, and because words and baking are both nutricious and sweet for the body and the mind alike, Antonin Carême started inventing with finesse and perseverance the master pieces of the art: vol-au-vent, millefeuille, charlottes... Hungry yet? If so, and despite my interest and natural love for baking, I think that reading the book is an easier way to get to know him and his colorful life.

Goodbye Mr. Lenôtre ant thank you for all the slices of tasty daydreaming.

Gaston Lenôtre - 28-05-1920/08-01-2009